Desperately seeking cheese pie-like-we-had-at-school!

[Skinit]

If you went to school in the 70s/80s then you may remember that cheese pie thing that they used to serve. It was open topped and came in massive deep tins....the dinner ladies would slice it into lots of squares and serve it with chips.

I have LONGED to eat it again for years!

It had a crust only on the bottom as I remember...a hardish one....and the top/filling was about three inches high and seemed to consist of cheese and eggs...in that it was flan-like but with nothing like vegggies or onions...only cheese!

Twas' dreamy and fatty and gorgeous. Drool.

How can I recreate this? I bet it was made from some weird 70s industrial tins of "Instant Cheazie Mix" or something....any ideas how I can make something like it? Please?

[StealthPolarBear]

I know the stuff you mean and I loved it too but have no desire to eat it again - isn't it basically lard pie?? :o
Anyway, didn't the filling also have potato - making the cheese all fluffy?

[meditrina]

I remember that too, and loved it! Always served with round scoops of mashed potato and with tinned tomatoes.

[Skinit]

Is it my imagination or was it a bit squeaky to eat? You know...it had a kind of film of brown toasted pure fat cheese on top which squeaked?

[Skinit]

I bet the recipe is languishing in some top secret 1950s style government office building....in a box marked "Cheese Pie formula"...they must also keep the recipe for those hard biscuit things which you got sitting in your gravy with your school "Roast dinner".

[StealthPolarBear]

this must be it surely

[TeaOneSugar]

This one has lard in it !!! from a school dinners website

[TeaOneSugar]

X Post same website different recipe.

[TeaOneSugar]

I really want some Manchester Tart now.

[Skinit]

Oooh....having a look now! thanks!

[Skinit]

Dried milk?? Lard?? My God I think it's one of these! It has to be!

Excited! Will try one tomorrow!

Hope I am not disapointed....hope my tastes have not improved or anything.

[headzookeeper]

I just use ready made pastry, because I'm really bad at making it myelf. Line a dish with it. Then grate a whole block of mature cheddar into a bowl. Beat 4/5 eggs together depending on the size and mix them togther with the cheese. Pour into the pastry and bake till set and it tastes like shool cheese pie. If you want to add onions part cook them first so you get most of the water out or you end up with watery pie.

To be fair though my mum told me the recipe and she used to work in a school canteen and this is how their chef used to make it.

[tr1cky]

new book on amazon

www.amazon.co.uk/70-SCHOOL-RECIPES-Richard-Squires-ebook/dp/B00NA6YWWI/ref=sr_1_14?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1409815250&sr=1-14&keywords=70.s&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[reast1956]

have just found a recipe that may be what u are looking for 6oz cheese 1oz butter 4oz breadcrumbs 1 egg 1/2 pint milk salt and pepper mix all ingredient apart from butter place in bakeing tray place flaked butter on top let stand 30 mins Cook 170°c/325°for 45 mins stir mixture well after 15 mins continue cooking

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

It definitely didn't have potatoes in, or breadcrumbs or anything much except pastry, cheese and eggs.

I hated it, but not because of the cheese tart (as called at my school) but because the dinner ladies used to pour the most horrible tomato sauce over it and render it inedible.

[Luckylesley66]

Hi if any one can get the recipe for the tomato sauce/ gravy, that went with the cheese flan, could you pass it on, just the tomato sauce though please. X

[IHateWashingUp2]

Do you mean the one with flaky pastry base, and layers of cheese mix (for want of a better description) and sliced hard boiled eggs? Heaven!
My mum also used to make a cheese and potato pie which I’ve unsuccessfully tried to recreate, no one else in the family remembers it but I loved it! Not really a pie actually, just a blob, mainly mashed potato.
Any recipe suggestions for either gratefully received!

[susanms]

www.pinterest.com/pin/415597871843657285/

[Deathraystare]

We had ours served up with tinned tomatoes. Loved it. Prob had seconds or thirds! Loved most of my school dinners. That's what made me such a glutton today! Gypsy tart with lemon sauce mmmmmm.

[bakingbernie]

Hi
My go to Cheese and Onion pie might be what you are looking for.
I line a metal flan dish with ready made short crust pastry and blind bake. 180c
15 minutes.
Whilst that is cooking I fry sliced onions (two medium) in butter.
Put softened onions into blind baked pastry flan case.
Grate approx 6oz cheddar on top
Beat two eggs and about 100 ml of cream or milk together s&p
Pour over onion & cheese
Bake for 25 minutes until set and golden brown.

[Swallowzandamazons]

OMG thank you to the posters who added that School Recipe website!

PINK CUSTARD!!! I now know how the pink custard happened. I have been speaking of this for decades and my husband has looked at me like I have two heads the entire time.

I can die happy now. Validation!!!!!

[pam290358]

@Swallowzandamazons. I LOVED pink custard !! They used to serve up hot chocolate sponge cake in huge tines, cut into squares and slathered in pink custard. Years later I discovered that if you buy a pack of Birds’ blancemange powder and use the strawberry flavour, adding approximately one third more milk to it, you get the exact same flavour - basically it’s just hot, poured blancemange. Lovely stuff.

[Whattheduck]

This is from a cookbook I have called Good old fashioned school dinners

[PintPot]

I've never quite been able to recreate a recipe the canteen at my DM's school made - it was called Chocolate Floorboards, and followed the usual crushed cornflakes/Marg/syrup formula, but the secret ingredient that made it so incredibly moreish was crack cocaine powdered milk. The teachers used to reserve slices before it went out to the kids.

I've stopped trying to make it now, because if I ever succeeded I would have to be cut out of my house.